Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming has addressed Ravindra Jadeja's struggles while facing spin bowlers in the current Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. As CSK gear up for the clash Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on April 25, this encounter carries big weight as both teams are reeling at bottom of the IPL 2025 points table.
Initially in IPL 2025, Ravindra Jadeja was deployed in a finisher's role, batting lower down the order. However, recent strategic adjustments have seen him promoted higher up the batting lineup in the last two matches. While he contributed an unbeaten 53 off 35 balls against Mumbai Indians (MI), this followed a less successful outing against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) where he was dismissed cheaply for 7 runs off 11 balls. This change in the batting order has exposed Jadeja more frequently to spin bowling, an aspect of his batting that has proven to be a relative weakness in this IPL season.
The statistical breakdown of Jadeja's performance against different bowling types in IPL 2025 reveals a stark contrast. Against pace bowlers, the all-rounder from Saurashtra boasts an impressive average of 94 and a striking strike rate of 164.91, having been dismissed only once. In stark comparison, spinners have held a clear advantage, accounting for his dismissal on four occasions this season. Consequently, his average against spin plummets to 12.75, and his strike rate declines significantly to 87.93.
Stephen Fleming on Ravindra Jadeja's spin struggles
Meanwhile, CSK coach Fleming openly admitted that Jadeja has a lot of room for improvement while facing spin. However, he also expressed his optimism that the talented all-rounder would soon identify and implement effective strategies to counter this particular challenge.
“There's a lot of room for improvement in our view and it's a little bit of opportunity. I know in the past that he's done it for a couple of games, but he hasn't had a big run at it, and it's more the attitude towards it. So we're exploring a lot of things at the moment to see whether there are gains within the side with one view on trying to win every game remaining in the IPL but also in the future," said Fleming in the pre-match press conference.
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The New Zealand legend also indicated a strategic direction for CSK moving forward. He stated that the team has formulated plans to explore the capabilities of their players in roles and situations that they haven't extensively experienced or mastered previously.
"So we think there are areas that we can explore with our players where they haven't perhaps conquered it in the past and just trying to change some attitudes around it," Fleming concluded.
CSK are currently reeling at the bottom of the points table with just two wins in a total of eight matches. MS Dhoni-led side will have to do something miraculous to make it to playoffs. They will need to win all the six matches and make sure they keep their Net Run Rate in check.